A Tomb Fit For A King

,

What better way to start off your day than a hot air balloon ride at sunrise over the Valley of the Kings?  This is how we started New Years’ Eve!

Floating high above Luxor and the Valley of the Kings

To start off our day, we took a hot air balloon over the city of Luxor for an aerial tour. We were able to see how they set up the balloons and how they filled them up with hot air and attach them to the baskets.



Once the balloon had air, it was time to bring some heat!



Each basket held 32 people, so I was still a little worried that the balloon wouldn’t be able to take off. Fortunately for us, lift off was achieved and we watched the sun rise from the sky.



The views were spectacular.  To the west we were able to see almost the entire Valley of the Kings, particularly Hatshepsut’s funerary temple.

Incredible views over the Valley of the Kings.  Note Queen Hatshepsut’s funerary temple in the upper right hand corner.

And to the east we saw Luxor and the rising sun.

The sun cresting the horizon over Luxor.

Later in the day, we explored the Valley of the Kings from the ground. There are 62 tombs in the Valley of the Kings, each tomb belonging to a pharaoh of ancient Egypt. All of these tombs were originally filled with treasures from ancient Egypt, but almost all of it was stolen by grave robbers.

Touch down in the Valley of the Kings!

Inside all of the tombs, the walls are covered with beautiful, vibrant paintings. Since they have had no exposure to the sun or nature, the painted walls are well-preserved and look like they were finished recently.

Breathtaking painted walls.



Many of the tombs contain paintings depicting scenes from the Book of the Dead, a collection of texts made to guide and protect the dead through their journey to afterlife. The text was normally wrapped in the mummy’s bandages and certain scenes were painted on the tomb walls.

The Pharaoh’s boat to the afterlife from the Book of the Dead.
Ceilings and walls were all painted.
Some tombs we visited had a sarcophagus in them.

When we explored the Valley of the Kings, we visited 4 tombs: the tombs of Ramses II, Ramses IX, Merenptah, and Tutankhamen. In order to take pictures of the paintings inside, you have to buy an extra ticket, but we decided to be stealthy and try our luck taking pictures without a ticket. I took pictures throughout the tombs and I was never caught, but my dad was. He had to pay the person who caught him and he was free to go.

In my opinion, the most spectacular tomb was the tomb of King Tut. Inside his tomb, we saw his mummy, his golden sarcophagus, and amazing paintings. King Tut’s tomb is actually pretty small in comparison to the other pharaohs’ tombs because he was buried in the tomb meant for his advisor. Since he died at a young age, there wasn’t enough time to build him a “proper” tomb.

Mural above the sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun.



This experience reminded me of the tombs we saw during our time at Petra in Jordan.  Both were carved into the rocks and have been preserved for all these years!  I can only imagine how the archaeologists must have felt when they uncovered these tombs, especially King Tut’s.

Enjoying the beautiful tomb walls.

About the Author


Comments

2 responses to “A Tomb Fit For A King”

  1. Very Interesting! Thanks for sharing all this wonderful information! Love the Photos! Love, Baba

    1. Mikhaila Avatar

      Hi Baba,

      These tombs were incredible! The wall paintings were beautiful and I can’t believe what a good condition they are in!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *